There is a fundamental core audience to this flick (and the original graphic novels from Oni Press) and I want to make something perfectly clear: I am not a part of it.

O’Malley has always been upfront about the fact that, as much as anything else, his collection of funny-books is an ode to his wee days worshipping at the most sacred home-entertainment altar of… Nintendo. I didn’t have a Nintendo. I didn’t have a console of any kind. I didn’t really have many friends who did have one.

And I still $#!%ing lesbian* this film.

The source material (of which I am a huge fan anyway) provides humour and heart aplenty to draw from. The fact that something as silly (yes everyone, silly) as this makes me care about characters is nothing less than a miracle. Oh, wait… Edgar Wright. Oh you sneaky bugger you – you’ve been making us care about silly characters since ’98.

Listen: In order to date Ramona, Scott Pilgrim must fight – and defeat – her seven (count ‘em) evil exes. But I’m sure you knew that. What you might not know is that at no point does this drop into ridicule. Don’t mistake me, it is ridiculous, but you’re having so much fun that no-one’s going to want to point that out.

The cameos come hard and fast in this flick, and every one of them makes you wish that the movie was about that character. This is a movie based upon cool moments to a large extent, but everyone is committed to making theirs as cool as it can be. Performance-wise I’m going to have a slightly harder time talking about Michael Cera – there’s something about him that… I don’t know. Bill Bailey? What was it you said? “A bit like the canary in the mine. Flattered by the attention of the miners, but baffled by their reasons for keeping him around.” The perennially confused look on his face only fades when it’s time to “FIIIIIIIGHT!”, at which point he transforms into an unbelievably credible action man.

It’s a trip down nostalgia lane – for some more than others, but everyone who’s between 25 and 40 should hit on something that makes them say “Oh hey! I remember thaaaaaaat…”

How to enjoy it

Round up your old, old school gamer buddies; drink Jolt Cola and eat Pringles; if you’re with a significant other, cradle them in one arm while you cradle your Nintendo in the other. If you’re between 25 and 40, and played sport in school, focused hard on studies or were otherwise disinterested in comics, Street Fighter and bands that most people wouldn’t have heard of… don’t bother.